Disney goes cold on Twitter deal over image concerns

THE Walt Disney Company decided not to pursue a bid for Twitter partly out of concern that bullying and other uncivil forms of communication on the social media site might soil the company's wholesome family image, according to people familiar with management's thinking.

THE Walt Disney Company decided not to pursue a bid for Twitter partly out of concern that bullying and other uncivil forms of communication on the social media site might soil the company's wholesome family image, according to people familiar with management's thinking.

The producer of family fare like 'Frozen' and 'Finding Dory' had gone so far as to hire two investment banks, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Guggenheim Partners, to help evaluate a Twitter bid.

Disney management also listened to a presentation about the business from Twitter executives, according to the sources.

There were other reasons for Disney not to pursue Twitter. The social media pioneer is losing money and yet has a market value of almost $12bn. That would be a big deal even for Disney, which has a market value 12 times that. (Bloomberg)